As a solopreneur building an online service from the ground up, I often got asked why I chose to manage everything myself — starting from understanding Product Market Fit, Product Design, Strategy and defining Product Roadmap, development and UI/UX design to marketing, SEO, accounting, and even filing Company tax returns and more.
So even though I have seen surprised faces with gestures that this is not Possible, or the expressions that were like ‘He is Faking for sure’ The simple answer was and is that I preferred it that way and did it too. Not just out of habit or necessity, but because it allowed me to maintain complete ownership over the Vision, Execution, and Growth (or Failure) of my business and I was the best one who understood the product from benefits perspective and not be more like I am investing $10, so I should have guaranteed returns of $100 within this duration. If what one is looking forward to is getting returns on the investment, in a particular time duration, then Stocks are the best options.
Wearing multiple hats isn’t easy, but it’s empowering. When I developed one of my products & platform, I knew exactly what the Customer was looking for and what should be the flow that I should create, what would be the best framework and also going bit deeper, also knew how the backend talks to the frontend and what color mapping should be done on the page or the mobile App. I definitely read a lot of White Papers, Books and many small tidbits that the LinkedIn Members from all across the world were publishing.
So, When I designed the user interface, I already had the user journey in mind, and it was easy for me to get on the drawing board and create a flow that would help the customer.
There was no misalignment between departments because, frankly, there are no departments. There are no conflicts of interest as this was my interest and I was the team — and that allowed for seamless integration of strategy, design, technology, and delivery.
I found that doing everything myself significantly reduced friction (reduced and not removed because internal friction would still be there). There’s no need for meetings to sync with designers or explain marketing goals to developers. Every change or idea flowed directly from thought to execution. This speed gave me a major advantage, especially in a competitive digital space where agility and rapid iteration often matter more than perfect planning.
Another reason I preferred this approach was because of the deep learning it brings. Managing everything from sales funnels to SEO, from content marketing to financial accounting, gave me a holistic understanding of how the business functions, how would the end product benefit that particular user that is around the corner. It strengthened my strategic thinking and gave me insights that would otherwise be filtered through layers of specialists. Now, I did not just know what works — but I was understanding why it works and works ‘that’ way.
Financially, doing everything in-house keeps costs lean. As a bootstrapped founder, I did not rely on external agencies or hire teams I can’t afford. Every dollar saved went back into the business or into learning something new. This financial discipline also made me appreciate every client, every click, and every conversion much more.
The only Challenge on the financial side was that, that some finances can be controlled but there are many other areas where more Money has to be invested & ‘burnt’, especially in Marketing & Selling, and that is the ‘Thing’ that you cannot create or do it yourself, you cannot just create money, you will need your own savings or have Rich Investors with shared vision, a trust and enthusiasm, passion to succeed which is mostly unlikely to be found considering the harsh competition and the urge to make Millions of $$$ in the shortest span of time
So, the best part would be that there’s a creative satisfaction in building something entirely with your own hands from scratch. Every design decision, every line of code (maybe not exactly at that level 😊), every landing page, every invoice — it all had my fingerprints on it. It’s not just a product or a business. It’s a personal reflection of one’s skills, abilities, values, and vision.
That said, I’m not against delegation or building a team in fact good teams sharing the same vision are much better than toiling lonely and I have worked with many good and large teams as well. But what I valued in this case was the clarity, speed, and control that came from being a solo operator. It’s not about ego — it’s about efficiency and staying close to your creation, the product and to the people using it.
In a world full of outsourcing, automation, and shortcuts, doing it all as a one man army might seem unconventional. But for me, it was the most direct, focused, and rewarding way to build something meaningful — from the inside out.
Did I succeed or fail? That’s a bit relative question in this ever-changing dynamic business landscape and the Conclusion is not yet done.
It’s perfectly fine if the world does not agree with your thought but remember it’s just ‘You’ as a person who sometimes want to just test your abilities and only one you want to prove to is ‘YOU’.
MIDASRAY 